Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change. This study aims to investigate why, when and how inter-organisational networks adapt or remain resistant to change. Responding to complex social problems and technological change requires inter-organisational networks to be adaptable. Through a combination of longitudinal network analysis, survey research and qualitative interviews, this project plans to study the Victorian HIV and hepatitis C sector as it responds to ma ....Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change. This study aims to investigate why, when and how inter-organisational networks adapt or remain resistant to change. Responding to complex social problems and technological change requires inter-organisational networks to be adaptable. Through a combination of longitudinal network analysis, survey research and qualitative interviews, this project plans to study the Victorian HIV and hepatitis C sector as it responds to major advances in prevention and treatment, requiring community, health, policy and research organisations to adapt their roles and relationships. This timely and novel study aims to improve our knowledge of how to enable inter-organisational networks to adapt and improve organisational responsiveness to complex issues.Read moreRead less
Cyber-racism and community resilience. Racism has become a significant source of social stress, facilitated through the internet, undermining community cohesion. This project will document perpetrators’ creation of racist content, internet users’ exposure to cyber-racism, the capacity of regulation to manage the impact, and how social media can help communities to resist cyber-racism.
Reducing youth unemployment through social procurement in construction. This project aims to produce new conceptual insights into effective cross-sector collaboration in construction, in order to provide solutions to address youth unemployment. Youth unemployment is a significant economic, social and health problem. Yet Australia’s largest youth employer, the construction industry, faces skills shortages to deliver an unprecedented construction and infrastructure pipeline. Social procurement is ....Reducing youth unemployment through social procurement in construction. This project aims to produce new conceptual insights into effective cross-sector collaboration in construction, in order to provide solutions to address youth unemployment. Youth unemployment is a significant economic, social and health problem. Yet Australia’s largest youth employer, the construction industry, faces skills shortages to deliver an unprecedented construction and infrastructure pipeline. Social procurement is a potential solution to both these challenges but requires new approaches to cross sector collaborations. This project aims to develop new insights, practical knowledge and practical tools for effective social procurement.Read moreRead less
Stewarding thin markets: improving public sector market effectiveness. This project aims to develop methodologies to identify thin markets in the public service sector. Thin markets, where there are a low number of buyers or low number of sellers, are a major risk for governments utilising a personalised approach to service delivery. This project will develop new methodologies for identifying thin markets and determine ways emerging markets can be stewarded to better achieve their aims.
Activating and maintaining community participation in natural and cultural resources initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin. The project goes beyond the rhetoric of participation to discover what factors activate communities and individuals to become involved in programs and voluntary initiatives for natural resource management. It assesses the effectiveness of existing communication channels and develops new models for more effective and representative participation. It combines the National M ....Activating and maintaining community participation in natural and cultural resources initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin. The project goes beyond the rhetoric of participation to discover what factors activate communities and individuals to become involved in programs and voluntary initiatives for natural resource management. It assesses the effectiveness of existing communication channels and develops new models for more effective and representative participation. It combines the National Museum of Australia's expertise in environmental history and public communication with the imperative of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to improve community participation in natural resource management. The potential for harnessing communications technology to facilitate new channels for participation is assessed through carefully evaluated pilot programs.Read moreRead less
Managing and mitigating social risks of major infrastructure projects. This project aims to reduce social risks of major infrastructure projects by generating an evidence-based social risk management framework. It brings together leading ANU researchers with top organisations in Australia's infrastructure sector, already working together via the ANU Institute for Infrastructure in Society. The project seeks to improve social risk management in a multi-billion dollar sector, vital to all Australi ....Managing and mitigating social risks of major infrastructure projects. This project aims to reduce social risks of major infrastructure projects by generating an evidence-based social risk management framework. It brings together leading ANU researchers with top organisations in Australia's infrastructure sector, already working together via the ANU Institute for Infrastructure in Society. The project seeks to improve social risk management in a multi-billion dollar sector, vital to all Australians. The project is significant because it adopts a sector-wide view to systematically define social risk, co-create a social risk management framework and implement it via a new social risk management toolkit. This should lessen harm to communities, reduce delays and costs and benefit national infrastructure delivery.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354531
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Social research network for sustainable rural communities. The triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental imperatives forms the accepted ingredients of sustainability. While the economic and environmental dimensions have been relatively well researched, there is insufficient understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions and how these determine environmental and health outcomes. The interactions between the dimensions are also poorly understood. While there are some researchers in ....Social research network for sustainable rural communities. The triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental imperatives forms the accepted ingredients of sustainability. While the economic and environmental dimensions have been relatively well researched, there is insufficient understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions and how these determine environmental and health outcomes. The interactions between the dimensions are also poorly understood. While there are some researchers in this field, they have tended to work in isolation. The development of a resourced interdisciplinary network to facilitate collaboration will increase the contribution and innovativeness of their collective research and contribute to understanding socio-economic determinants of dynamic regions and healthy rural communities.Read moreRead less
Technologies of performance, technologies of governance: the bane, benefits, ethics and future of performance measurement in government. This study examines governments' increasing use of performance management and the complex ways this is transforming schools, universities, health and welfare services. It aims to improve service performance by identifying problems areas and engaging wider public perspectives.